Mast-hoop



(No Model.)

H. T. HUTCHINGS.

MAST HOOP.

Patented "Jan. 14,1890.

6 mm z iai gz n. PETERS, FhaQn-Lihogmpher. Waxhingtnn. n. c

UNITED STATES ATENT OFFIC HENRY T. HUT OHINGS, OF BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. I

MAST-HOOP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 419,448, dated January 14, 1890.

Application filed August 21, 1889. Serial No. 321,462. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, HENRY 'l. HUTOHINGS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Boston, in the county of Suffolk and State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and In the accompanying drawings, Figure 1 illustrates a perspective view of a mast-hoop constructed in accordance with my invention with a portion of a sail connected thereto, and Fig. 2 a plan view of the hoop with the fastening device made separate and afterward connected to the ends thereof.

In describing the construction of my invention, A designates the mast-hoop, which may be formed of wood or metal possessing the necessary elasticity, or a material of such resiliency as to permit of the ready springing of the hoop over the mast, spar, or stay.

In Fig. 1 I have shown the hoop as having its ends forged or otherwise formed with the fastening device, constituting in the present instance a catch or hook B and a recess or eye 0, which serves as a keeper for the catch or hook. It is not essential that such fastening device be made integral ,with the ends of the hoop, as in some cases it may be preferable to construct them separate and afterward rivet 0r securely fasten them in any well-known manner. to the ends of the hoop, which construction I have shown in Fig. 2, and when thus made separately gun-metal or phosphor-bronze is preferably used, so as not to be affected by the salt air.

In practice the ends of the hoop are disen gaged from their fastenings, which will admit of said hoop being sprung over the mast, after which the ends are made to engage each other, as shown in Fig; 1,.the resilient tendency of the hoop, resulting from the material of which it is constructed, keeping the hoop closed. The sail is united to the hoop, as shown, the eye or ring D of the sail being engaged by the hook or catch of the fastening device and fitting in the space between the extremities or ends of the hoop, thus bringing the sail closer to the mast, and the straining of the sail having a tendency by pressure outward upon the catch or hook to hold the ends of the hoop securely in engagement with each other.

As will be understood from the foregoing description, the hoop, as constructed in accordance with my invention, has no hinged sections, it being formed from a single piece of material without any hinged joints, and provides a hoop in which the seizing of the sails thereto is dispensed with, the sails being bent or unbent in a comparatively short time. The hoop has a further advantage over the old form .of hoop, in that it can be placed on the mast without interfering with the rig ging and readily removed during the Winter.-

.What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is

1. A mast-hoop formed of a ring of spring material and provided at its ends with a fastening device, the shank of the hook of which traverses the space between the ends of the ring and forms a means of attaching the sail, substantially as described.

2. A mast-hoop consisting of a ring of spring material, a hook or catch formed separate and afterward attached to one end of the ring, and a keeper for the hook, also formed separate and attached to the opposite end of the ring, substantially as and for the purpose thereby bringing the sail close to the mast or specified. spar, substantially as and for the purpose 3. An improved mast-hoop constructed of specified. springy material, Which is capable of being In testimony that- I claim the above I have 5 sprung over a mast, spar, or the like and hereunto subscribed mynamein the presence 15 locked by a fastening device at its ends of of two witnesses.

non-corroding metal, said fastening device HENRY T. IIUTCIIINGS. having a hook whose shank forms a bearing \Vitnesses: for the eye of the sail to hold it in the recess FRANCIS S. HESSELTINE,

:0 between the ends or extremities of the hoop, J. ALBERT BRACKETT. 

